16 Nov 2022
The Voice UK have crowned their 2022 winner and Premier Gospel spoke to her parents to find out more about how to raise a champion. Emmanuel and Ayo-Dele have both worked in the entertainment industry and shared how their daughter, Anthonia Edwards,grew up watching them from very early on, taking her to rehearsals and choir practices. Since then, they say they worked on developing her skillset to become the singer she is today. Muyiwa asked how they managed to ensure she was kept away from the negative side of the industry to which her mother said: "we've tried to be real with out journeys...When she looks at us she she may see people who persevere in all the challenges. We try not to get involved in the negativity in the industry and we always think about our craft as something that God has given to us to shine light in the world and I think maybe that's the aspect she's taken." Edwards, 25, entered the competition whilst studying to be a nurse. Her parents said they encouraged and supported all her choices but made sure she kept her mental health in check: "the further in she got she had this degree on her mind, questioning herself and the uncertainty and what we came away with was 'look, you need to go through the process'. Even with the nursing we just wanted her to finish because she started it. Whether she went on to become a nurse, it didn't matter, her mental health was most important." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymnbUrHi2FM With Anthonia's parents both being successful in the gospel music world many could argue that her win was inevitable, but her parents disagree: "Anthoniaput in a lot of work. Beyond the talent there's also a mental agility to really go for what you believe in so regardless of what we've done she has to carve out this thing for herself. She was on stage, she did the work and also, there were other contestants whod been singing for a long time too." Muyiwa asked the couple how to raise a child that has that kind of work ethic and mindset to which they gave three bits of advice: "Natural abilities - sometimes when we see things pop off we think 'oh thatll be great for you' but we have to look at the childs abilities and see what God is saying. We don't believe in pushing children in to things as it doesn't work.